Chapter 17 - The Centaurs

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Jacob found himself fighting the urge to attempt to investigate the song like Richard had. He knew that the same thing that had happened to him would just defend the forest again. He was certain that the sound was the centaur's way of defending their secret meetings. He would have to find some way around it, rather than Richard's attempted solution of going through it. There was no telling why Mal had heard a song rather than the irritating ringing. Richard had suggested something none of them had tried yet, flying into the forest. The only problem was, he was no good on a broom. Mal had been the only one to prove adept on a broom, but she was the only one that didn't need to fly around the sound. As he pondered his dilemma, the most simple solution came to him. He didn't need to avoid the sound or to tough through it, he could just cancel it. On his way out of Herbology he slipped a pair of earmuffs into his robes, and then he was ready. He had been expecting a much more difficult time acquiring them, but no problems had arisen. He walked into the forest ready to hear the ear piercing sound that had buried itself in his mind the last time he heard it. He was perplexed by the sound, because he was almost certain that the song Mal had heard was the same thing as the sound that had practically tortured Richard and himself. Finally, once he was deeper into the woods, he heard the sound. He reached into his robe and pulled out the earmuffs. Slipping them on, he noticed the sound was still audible, but it didn't seem to bother him anymore. He wandered aimlessly until he noticed the sound was always more intense in a single direction, so he followed it. Suddenly, he noticed the same light that Mal had mentioned, and the sound stopped. He drew his wand and crouched down, drawing closer. It was then that he heard the hooves, giving off a sound like thunder in a massive storm. He peered over what must have been the same bush Mal had hid in. There he saw a group centaurs scattered across the camp, but he heard a human voice as well. He could see where they were, but the student was here still. He looked around the camp and finally noticed a smaller figure in a Hogwarts robe crouching on the far side of the central fire. He could make out the green stripe of Slytherin on the robes, and shorter hair that seemed to be dyed with a stripe of blue. A stripe that he recognized.

"That's why she's here. She is like Vince." Jacob found himself saying to himself. He peered over the bush once more and accidentally rose just a little too much. Lyndsey locked eyes with him and then drew her own wand. She said nothing but simply gestured to the bushes that he was behind. She smirked at him, and he heard a creaking from behind him. Turning, he found himself face to face with an arrow knocked in it's bow. The centaur looked him in the eyes and growled. He was in trouble.

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Cat wasn't sure why she had done it, but when she had noticed Jacob slipping the pair of earmuffs away in herbology, she had made up her mind to look into what he was planning. She had followed him into the forest originally, but when she had heard the song, she quickly turned into her feline form. She found her senses were all sharper when she was a cat. She followed him silently further into the wood, until she noticed the camp ahead. She hid in the shadows, and noticed Lyndsey in the camp. When the centaur cornered Jacob, she knew what she had to do. She transformed back to real form, and drew her wand. She pointed her wand and whispered a single word, "Wingardium Leviosa." The arrow flew away from the bow, but the centaur then turned on her. Jacob looked surprised to see her, but he kept his cool and raised his wand. "Depulso!" He shouted. The centaur was blown away from him, flying through the air and landing on his side. Cat waved him away, but Jacob reached down and picked up the arrow that the centaur had attempted to fire at him. He began to run with her, but they knew they wouldn't be able to outrun a centaur herd. Cat looked over at Jacob and noticed that he had removed the arrowhead from his new toy. She wasn't sure what his plan was, but she did trust him. Unfortunately, a centaur appeared in front of them, bursting out of the undergrowth next to him. It reared up on its hind legs, and when it came down Jacob went down with crunch as one its hooves found his right leg. She heard him shout, and the centaur stiffened and fell to the ground, petrified.

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